DOS Days

Hercules Terminator 3D/DX

The Hercules Terminator 3D/DX was a later version of theirr earlier Terminator 3D, this time sporting a ViRGE/DX chipset.

 Released 1997
Bus PCI
Chipset S3 ViRGE/DX (86C375)
Standards VGA
Memory 2 MB or 4 MB EDO DRAM (64-bit, 35ns)
RAMDAC (Embedded, 170 MHz)
Ports 15-pin DSUB (analogue RGB video out)
Part # T3312EDO (2 MB)
T3314EDO (4 MB)
GB3610P
FCC IDs EW65T5BPLP, I27MM-VS03A
Price At launch: $149 list (2 MB), $179 list (4 MB)
See Also Terminator 3D

The Hercules Terminator 3D/DX was built around S3's ViRGE/DX chipset, a combined 2D engine from the Trio64V2 and 3D graphics engine. The card was launched during the DirectX 3a time period.
The integrated RAMDAC is 32-bit and runs at 170 MHz, while main memory operates at 50 MHz.

The Terminator 3D/DX was able to run at a maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200 in 256 colours if you had a 4 MB card. For 24-bit colour, the maximum resolution was 1024 x 768. To get the fastest refresh rate of 160 Hz, screen resolution needed to be reduced to 800 x 600 in 256 colours or 640 x 480 in 64,000 colours.

Two versions of the Terminator 3D/DX were available:

  • T3312EDO - 2 megabytes of EDO DRAM
  • T3314EDO - 4 megabytes of EDO DRAM

Here is Hercules' own sales information on the Terminator 3D/DX:

Product Highlights

 2D/3D S3 ViRGE/DX graphics & multimedia engine
 High performance / high bandwidth hardware design
 2MB (upgradeable) or 4 MB 40ns EDO DRAM
 High performance Power Drive drivers for Windows 95
 Powerful 2nd generation 3D
 Software player for MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 (requires MMX mainboard, retail only)
 170MHz DAC for refresh rates up to 160 Hz
 Maximum 1600x1200 at 16-bit and 1024x768 true color
 Hardware accelerated video playback, color space conversion, scaling and X/Y filtering
 Accelerates playback of DirectDraw and DirectVideo compatible CODECs including
    MPEG-1, Indeo Video Interactive, Cinepak, TrueMotion-S and QuickTime
 VESA DPMS, DDC 1, DDC 2B support for Plug-and-Play operation
 Includes Game CD "Descent II: Destination Quartzon 3D
 Drivers for Windows 3.xx, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows NT 3.5x,
    Windows NT 4.0, OS/2, and AutoCAD

Excellent 2D/3D Graphics Performance

The Hercules Terminator 3D/DX is a major breakthrough in high-performance 2D/3D graphics and multimedia technology. Compared with considerably more expensive VRAM, SGRAM or 128-Bit boards the Hercules Terminator 3D/DX offers significantly increased 3D performance, faster 2D graphics and enhanced video playback quality.

2nd Generation 3D Delivers Industry Leading Performance

The Hercules Terminator 3D/DX is the "3D feature-set leader." It combines improved 3D frame rate performance with excellent 3D image quality to put Hercules' new 3D accelerator in the leading position of the price/performance/3D-feature competition. Hercules’ unique high-performance/wide-bandwidth hardware design and advanced Power Drive drivers for Windows 95 with enhanced Microsoft DirectX support unleash all the capabilities of the new, powerful controller chip.

S3 ViRGE/DX Graphics Processor

The Hercules Terminator 3D/DX integrates S3’ new ViRGE/DX and 2MB (upgradeable) or 4MB of high-speed EDO DRAM with increased data throughput into a high-performance/wide-bandwidth hardware design to deliver the next level of performance required by emerging 2D/3D business desktop applications and 3D gaming. The Hercules Terminator 3D/DX also takes full advantage of the architectural enhancements of the S3 ViRGE/DX such as "SmartFilter technology" for high quality texture mapping, and the "parallel processing perspective engine" to increase frame rates.

Hercules combines these 3D performance advantages with the support of a variety of 3D effects in hardware such as "bilinear filtering" for smooth edges, "fogging" for atmospherical effects, and "transparency" for realistically rendering of real world environments.

Refresh Rates up to 160Hz

The Hercules Terminator 3D/DX features a 170MHz high-performance DAC for a 16.7 million color display at 1024x768, and 1280 x 1024 at an 85Hz refresh rate. Monitors supported range from standard 14" VGA up to 21" with 110 kHz. Refresh rates are available up to 160Hz.

Software MPEG-2 Player

To further enhance the multimedia experience, full-screen/full-motion video playback is now even smoother with enhanced, high quality linear interpolation in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions. In addition to an MPEG-1 software player the Hercules Terminator 3D/DX is also shipping with an MPEG-2 software player taking full advantage of Hercules’ DirectX driver support and the next generation of MMX processors.

Accelerated Drivers

The Hercules Terminator 3D/DX ships with Hercules’ Power Drive drivers for Windows 95 and accelerated drivers for Windows NT 4.0. In addition, the Hercules CD includes Touch desktop management utilities and the Hercules Entertainment Center, a consumer electronics style control center, which allows the user to easily load and play audio and video files from a fun, easy-to-use on-screen interface.

Accelerated drivers for Windows 3.x, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows NT 3.5x, OS/2 Warp, and AutoCAD are also included.

Complete 3D Support

In addition to being among the fastest 2D accelerators, the Terminator 3D is fully Microsoft Direct3D compatible and supports a complete set of accelerated 3D functions and 3D special effects in hardware, such as video texture mapping, MIP mapping with bi-linear filtering, cueing depth and fogging, alpha blending, Z-buffering, flat shading and Gouraud shading. See our quick course in 3D terminology for more information on these terms! See the chart below for a comparison on how our features stack up to our competition's!

Specifications

  • 64-bit S3 ViRGE/DX -- a powerful 3D, graphics, and multimedia engine
  • Full SuperVGA support - a one-card solution. VESA BIOS extensions in ROM.
  • Refresh rates of up to 160Hz
  • 2MB (or 4MB) 40 ns single-cycle EDO DRAM display memory and Z-buffer storage
  • PCI Bus
  • Standard VGA feature connector
  • VESA DPMS, DDC 1, DDC 2B for Plug-and-Play support
  • Five year warranty

Bundled Software

  • Game CD "Descent II: Destination Quartzon 3D"
  • Xing Technology Corporation's XingMPEG Player for accelerated, full-screen MPEG, Video CD and CD-i playback.
  • Hercules Touch 95™
    • A fully integrated utility suite that seamlessly integrates into Windows 95.
    • Features a flexible, customizable virtual desktop and sophisticated monitor adjustment tools.
    • Independently select resolutions, refresh rates, and adjust image size or position.
    • Zoom your screen to work in 8x magnification.
  • Hercules Entertainment Center™
    • This all new multimedia application gives you a familiar consumer electronics component-style control center.
    • Fully customize all your multimedia applications.
    • Instantly catalog and play MIDI, WAV, and Video files.
    • Play audio CD's, Video CD and CD-i features.
    • Build track catalogs and perform sophisticated playback programming.

Driver Support

  • Windows 95 Power Drive proprietary drivers with accelerated DirectDraw support
  • Windows 3.1, Windows NT 3.5, 3.51, 4.0
  • OS/2 Warp
  • Autodesk ADI 4.2 for AutoCAD, 3D Studio

 

Board Revisions

No board revision info is known.

 

Competition

 

In the Media

"Hercules' reasonably priced Terminator 3D/DX ($169 list, $150 street) provides strong 2-D performance, and its support for a range of operating systems makes it ideal for MIS departments serving multiple environments. But for 3-D gamers or anyone gearing up for the coming 3-D business applications, the Terminator's 3-D performance won't satisfy.

The ViRGE DX-based board includes drivers and documentation for Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 3.1, Windows NT 3.51 and 4.0, and OS/2 Warp - one of the widest offerings among the products in this review. Hercules also bundles MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 players and Decent II: Destination Quartzon.

Setting up the Terminator was as simple as inserting the CD-ROM into the drive (though you have to install the MPEG-1 playback drivers separately). However, we found the Touch display utilities disjointed and poorly integrated with Windows 95's Display Properties dialog. For example, Touch provides refresh rate adjustment and a virtual desktop, but to change color depth on the fly you have to rely on Windows' Display Properties (and only if you are using Windows 95 OSR/2 or later). The board supports 65,000 colors at 1,280-by-1,024, which will satisfy most users.

Like most ViRGE DX boards, the Terminator performed extremely well on our 2-D ZD Business Winstone and ZD Business WinMark 97 tests. But the board is behind the curve on 3-D performance. Though image quality was generally crisp and clear, not all Direct3D modes (such as specular highlighting) are supported in hardware.

Though the Terminator 3D/DX is a solid choice for button-down department heads, 3-D enthusiasts are likely to be disappointed. "
PC Magazine, June 1997

 

Setting it Up

I have no information on setting up the Terminator 3D/DX card.


Downloads

Operation Manual
(missing)

Get in touch if you can provide this missing item!

Original Product Sheet
1997

The original Hercules product sheet for the Terminator 3D/DX from 1997.

Windows 3.x, 95, NT 3.1/3.5/4.0 and OS/2 Warp 3.0 & 4.0 Drivers
Version 1.59, 29 Aug 1997

Hercules Drivers & Utilities CD-ROM. Provides drivers for Terminator 32/64/Professional/3D and 3D/DX, Dynamite/Pro/Power/128, and Stingray 64/Pro and 128/3D.
Warning: This is a 327 MB ISO image.

 

More Pictures


All images above for this card kindly provided by DOS Days contributor, targeted.

Terminator 3D box and card
The original retail box for the Terminator 3D/DX